stephen wampler of california, husband and father of two, has cerebral palsy. and on sunday he left his wheelchair to begin the climb of his life. >> steve, how's it going, man? >> long day. seven hours climbing. >> reporter: steve is aiming to become the first person with cerebral palsy to climb the famed el capitan in yosemite national park. he trained for more than a year. each draining pull of that rope bringing him five inches closer to the top. but it is a towering challenge. el capitan is not just one empire state building but two. >> today is brutal. >> reporter: and today, suspended more than 1,000 feet above ground, we called him. hello, steve? hey, it's david muir in new york. how are you? >> good. and you? >> reporter: i guess you're just kind of hanging out. >> if you want to call it that. >> reporter: he's been climbing and sleeping on capitan for three days now. >> another 650 feet. so you're more than halfway there. >> yes. >> reporter: and none of this is surprising the woman who 15 years ago became steve's wife. >> at first i thought i bet he'